Zuma delivers on his pledge

NAMIBIA yesterday received 4 000 bags of cowpeas as part of the first consignment of the drought relief aid South African president Jacob Zuma pledged.

This comes nearly two years after Zuma initially promised N$100 million to Namibia during his state visit in November 2013.

Handing over the consignment was the High Commissioner of South Africa, Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, who said the delivery took longer because they had to operate according to a budget and money had to go through various processes before being approved.

Myakayaka-Manzini said the South African parliament had to agree to take money out of the fund which they use to assist various countries hit by disasters.

She said they are providing help with the guidance of the Namibian government, which identified its needs.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that will facilitate the disbursement of the donation in June 2016.

Myakayaka-Manzini added that “we could not guarantee that the seeds do not have genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as we could not provide the required amount and some are from Zambia”.

She said they are happy that the first load is “finally here, although we would have loved for it to arrive earlier and the delivery process will be until February. We hope it will give relief to the men and women suffering, especially women, children and the pensioners”.

Myakayaka-Manzini noted that 50% of the total value of the pledge is earmarked for the procurement of seeds and maize meal, while the remaining funds will be committed to the drilling of 101 boreholes and the implementation of water projects in five regions, which will render long-term benefits for communities adversely affected by the recurrence of drought in Namibia.

During the signing of the agreement in June, Namibia reiterated its appreciation to the South African government for the drought relief aid.

The consignment of the cowpeas is valued at N$386 000. The Namibian government will be in charge of the storage and distribution. Hundreds of thousands of Namibians have been affected by the current drought since 2013.